Volkswagen posts better-than-expected first half figures

It said first-half operating profit was $7.5bn, an improvement on the year-ago figure of €6.99bn, due to an improvement in the brand in the second quarter, despite the ongoing damage caused by the "Dieselgate" emissions scandal.

Those figures excluded €2.2bn from further provisions linked to legal risks Stateside.

The news came after the company recorded charges of €16.2bn in 2015 to cover costs related to the scandal. Earlier this year, Volkswagen said it was not expecting to release any further costs from the emissions scandal but didn't rule it out.

The Germany-based company reaffirmed its outlook for the full year, saying it expected revenue to be as much as 5% below 2015 levels as a result of weakness in emerging markets, foreign-exchange volatility and the impact of the emissions-cheating scandal.

On Tuesday, a civil lawsuit brought by the state of New York against the firm alleged that some of the highest officers still at Volkswagen were aware of the difficulty caused by the production of certain vehicles with regards to their high emissions, but chose to overlook them.

The company provided no further details about its earnings in the first half of the year, citing the scheduled publication of results on July 28.